Bold Bridges
by MissIndependant58
Summary: Life becomes hard when your parents are murdered and you're force to live with your abusive uncle and alcoholic aunt. Me and my younger twin brothers are all we have left. After 7 years of torture, I set out to find answers. I didn't think I would end up in New York. I especially didn't think I would meet four giant talking turtles along the way either! Please read and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright guys, after reading hundreds of stories I finally decided to write one. So here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them only my OCs**

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Chapter 1

_Figures. Freakin' figures this would happen. _I thought to myself as I run down the alleyway, dragging my brothers behind me. _Why did I run this way?_

I heard my pursuers behind me. "Were you going sweetheart? We just wanna play!" One of them yelled.

I rolled my eyes and continued to run. _How long do these guys plan to follow me? I have to shake them, can't let them hurt the twins._ I turn a corner and come face to face with a brick wall. Breathing heavily I curse. Hearing the taunting coming closer, I urge my brothers to hide behind a dumpster.

"Don't come out unless I tell you. Got it?" They both nod.

There were three of them. Two really tall ones, and a short one. They all had a purple dragon tattoo on their arms. One of the tall dragon tattooed men had a red beanie on his head. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." One of them chuckled. "Might as well stop fighting and enjoy it."

"Screw you." _Geez Kai, not the best thing to say right now._

They cackled. "That's the idea sweetheart."

One charges at me with his fists but I dodge him bring my foot up and I hit home. He kneels over and howls in pain. The one with the red beanie pulls a bat out from behind him and swung at me, it barley misses. A third knocks me in the head. I quickly recover, but not before the one with the bat swung again.

_Crack!_

A hot burning pain flies through my chest. I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. The world seems to slow down. The only I hear is my name being screamed. I stumble back and hit the wall. My steady breathing turns into panicking gasps. I look up to see my younger brother in front of me.

_N-Nathan? I told you to stay put. _He has a panic look on his face and shakes my shoulder. His mouth is moving but I can't seem to hear him. While I try getting myself together I realize that only Nathan was by me. _Ethan. Where's Ethan? Where's-_

My thoughts were cut off by a scream. "No, Ethan!" I yell. My little brother is on the floor and being cornered by two of the gang members. The third one is heading toward me and Ethan. I struggle to get to my feet, using the wall for support. _Ha-ve to get up. Ethan's in trouble. _The third member grabs my hair and I scream in pain. "I'm going to enjoy this." The creep whispered. I knew it was now or never so I brought my fist and slammed it into his face and then wrenched free from his grasp.

"Bitch!" They guy yelled as he regained his footing and shoved me against the wall again, this time his buddies decide to help, but not after hitting Ethan in the face. He hit the ground and wasn't moving. I charge over to my helpless little brother but I'm blocked off. They each took my arm and held me down. I finally get a good look at them. There's the one on my right with the red beanie and the bat, one with blond hair is on my left and the last one has a mohawk. He reared his arm back and punched me in the face. My head cracked against the brick wall and I was seeing stars. The thick taste of metal began to fill my mouth. I went limp as my knees buckled_. I'm sorry Nathan. I'm sorry Ethan. I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry._ But suddenly there was a whooshing sound.

The three creeps were suddenly grunting in pain. _What just happened?_ I slid down the wall, my vision fuzzy and my chest still flaring with pain. I flutter my eyes open. _When did I close them?_ I saw my three attackers on the ground, not moving. "Good riddance too" I whisper as the pain finally takes over and I let my head rolled down to the side.

"Is she gonna be okay?" I heard a voice ask.

"Dunno, she got hit kinda hard." This voice was rougher. Maybe a Brooklyn accent?

I tried to open my eyes, but my head was in too much pain.

"Shh guys look." Another voice added. _Look at what?_

"Is- is my sister o-okay?" I heard a small voice squeak. Nathan.

A pause. "Guys we need to go, the cops'll be here soon." The third voice said.

"What? Leo, we can't just leave her!" The first voice protested.

"Donnie?"

"I can't say for sure but I think her ribs are broken, or badly bruised. Plus I'm worried of a concussion." Another voice said. _Geez how many people are there? I have to get outta here. They're gonna take us back. We can't go back._

"Hey! Is my sister okay?" Nathan asks louder and more forcefully still clutching onto his younger twins' unconscious body.

I groaned as I felt something warm touch me arm. "She's just barely conscious." The fourth voice replied.

"Can't we just drop her off at a hospital?"

"Leo there's no time, she's already bleeding from head and if I don't stop the bleeding soon, she's going to be in some serious trouble."

_What? I'm bleeding? _

I hear a groan. "Master Splinter isn't going to like this."

"I got her Mike. You go get the kids." The rough voice said.

_No…don't touch them. Ethan, Nathan run. _My attempts of freedom were running thin as I felt myself being lifted into the air, strong arms supporting my weight.

"Damn, she as light as a feather."

I could still faintly hear the four voices talking, but soon I could feel myself drifting into darkness.

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**Please review! Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: **Thank you to everyone who followed, reviewed and favored! It really means a lot when you do. I did use my AU turtles but the only thing that was changed is that they don't wear knee or elbow pads and the wrappings they ware are black. There are other minor changes like they have tails and Leo and Donnie have brown eyes and Raph has auburn and Mikey has blue BUT they're still our favorite little shell heads. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I Don't own them only my OCs**

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Chapter 2

_Ugh…my head…_ I thought as I felt a painful throb in the back of my head. _What the hell happened? I don't remember… I was walking with the twins...then…OH! Those creeps! They cornered us and one hit Ethan and me! But how did I get away? Voices, I remember voices…something about a 'Master Splinter'. What the heck was that?_

"Kai"

The voice was distant, warbled, like an echo in a long tunnel.

"Kai, can you hear me?"

I didn't want to answer. My mind had shut down when it could no longer take the pain; I feared it would all return if I allowed myself back into consciousness.

"Kai, it's me Nathan. Are you okay? Please don't die, sis."

Groaning I forced my eyes open, squinting at first. Nathan's small face was there, starring with frighten eyes. But then they lit up and a smile spread across his face.

"You're awake!" The boy yelled to no one in particular."Kai is awake!"

The booming sound of his voice made me wince; I shut my eyes again. "Nathan, do you have to scream? I don't feel so good." I rasped out.

"Sorry- I'm just glad you're okay. Oh, I should go get Donnie! He told me to get you when you woke up. Be right back."

I heard him leave and I take what moment of silence I have before Nathan and- wait, who's Donnie? I take a deep breath, but it turns into a harsh cough.

"Hey, easy there." I heard a voice say to me.

"Maybe we should phone April." Another voice said.

"She's not answerin' Mikey, I told ya that." A rough voice said.

After my coughing fit settles, I try sitting up but was pushed back down against the bed I was on.

"You need to stay down until your ribs heal." I was told.

Opening my eyes slowly I was relieved that my vision was now clear. The first thing I saw was a high cinder block ceiling. I could hear the whirring of electronics and a beeping noise. I looked around and saw the towers of monitors in the corner with a computer chair in front of it, there were cupboards on the other side full of pill bottles and other medical things. I'm in a medical room? More like a lab with medical junk around it.

Weird.

Hadn't I heard voices?

I furrowed my brow in confusion and decided to go check things out. I swung my legs around and stood, only to feel extreme pain. I hunch over and reach out for the edge of the bed, but my hands slip and I fall.

But before I could hit floor, I was caught by my arm. I cried out at the sudden stop. I was looking at a foot…a green foot. What the hell?! I was being carefully lifted back onto the bed and greeted with four worried faces.

Except they weren't your normal human faces.

The worried expressions were on green faces. Green. Four very large green…Turtles? Each had a different color bandana around their eyes; blue, purple, orange, and red. They had wrappings on their legs and arms and a thick cloth belt around their waist. They were shifting uncomfortably, and starring at me. Okay this is either a really wired dream or I'm going crazy. I took a deep shaky breath and leaned my head against the pillows, closing my eyes.

"Uh…hey, you okay lady?" A voice said.

I kept my eyes close. "Where am I?"

"Um, you're in our home." A cautious voice answered.

I wasn't ready to open my eyes, but my choices were limited. I slowly opened my eyes yet again. There were still four giant turtles starring at me.

Yup, I've gone crazy.

"And home is, where exactly?" I asked.

"Down in the sewers." The orange banded turtle answered.

"Course it is. I'm down in the sewers, talking with giant turtles. Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later." I said looking at them; they all had a confused look on their faces. Then a thought occurred to me.

"Where are my brothers?"

"Oh, one of them is on the couch watching TV and the other one is still sleeping. I don't really know which one his who though." The purple banded turtle said. "Are you feeling alright?"

I sighed. "Ask me in a few weeks, I'm pretty sure my doctor would give you an answer."

One of them laughed followed by another smacking him in the back of his head. "What? That was funny!" Orange said.

"You're…reacting strangely." Blue said carefully.

I snorted. "You're a man sized talking turtle, and you're called me strange.

Orange laughed again and the red banded turtle couldn't hide his smirk. The blue one narrowed his eyes at me.

"What were ya doin' out late last night anyway?" The red one demanded suddenly.

"Don't get an attitude with me buster! I was-" I stopped and controlled my breathing. _I can't tell these guys. If I do they would probably take us to the police and take us back._ "We were heading home when those three jerks started to chase us."

"Oh really? Ya jus' happen' ta be walkin' home with ya little brothers, then run inta some Purple Dragons?"

"Raph, ease up." Blue said.

"Jus' tyrin' ta figure ot what this chick was thinkin'." He replied with a shrug.

"Well I'm sorry you had to come in and save me, but I was doing fine without you." I snapped.

"Oh, yeah, you getting knocked around sure proved that."

"It's nothing I'm not used to." I shot back but regretted. They each gave me a shocked expression. _Crap! I didn't mean to say that!_

"What do you-"

Red was cut off when a flash of brown zipped past him. "Kai I missed you so much, even though you never went anywhere it was still weird. So you like the guys yet? I do! Raph has this really cool wrestling match his TV and the guys were punching each other and one of them was bleeding through his nose!" As to add more effect he acted out getting punched in the face with an over dramatic expression.

"That's very cool Nathan." I say pretending to be interested not wanting to shatter his spirits.

"Yeah it is! Aren't these guys the coolest?" He points to each turtle. "Donnie is really smart, he can build anything. He probably built a whole space station and a rocket to the moon! Raph is really strong. Like real strong, he almost lost against me in out arm wrestling match." I cast a quick glance at 'Raph' and see him shake his head. "Mikey makes the best ice cream Sundays in the whole entire world!"

He says spreading his arms out wide. "And Leo is like the strong boring silent type."

Everyone laughs but Mr. Silent himself who looks all but annoyed.

Changing the subject I asked, "How long was I out?"

"About a day. Speaking of which, may I check your head out?" Donnie asks kindly.

I give an apprehensive nod. The purple turtle smiled at me and grabbed a flashlight and shined it into my eyes. I wince at its brightness, but tried to stay still as he continued. He then moved to my head. I jumped once we touched the back of it.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Well you don't have a concussion, which is good. But you're going to have a killer headache for a few days. Some ibuprofen should work though. As for your ribs, they were just badly bruised, so they'll heal on their own with lots of rest."

"You some kinda doctor?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not really."

"So what know?"

"Well I think it's time you guys got home." Leo said.

"You're just letting me go? Just like that?"

Raph snorted. "Whadja think was gonna happen'?"

Shrugging I say "I don't know." I honestly didn't.

"We aren't gonna hurt you dudette." Mikey spoke. "There's no reason to hurt you."

"Some people don't need a reason." I said quietly not meaning for the guys to hear me. The room got strangely quiet, Nathan whispers to me that he'll go get Ethan and meet us at the door.

"So where do you live?" Mikey asked.

"I live…in an apartment building not far from Central Park." I told them.

"Alright, let's get going! I'm sure your parents are worried out of their shells." He said enthusiastically.

Smiling at his remake I stand to my feet to crimple in pain. How_do I keep forget about my ribs. _Donnie grasped my elbow and helped steady me. I blush deeply.

"Please, humor me." He told me with a smile.

I opened my mouth to argue, but decided not to say anything against it. "Alright, fine."

"So what's your name?" Mikey asked as they walked.

"I'm Kai McMiller."

"Interesting, that's ocean in Chinese right?" Donnie curiously asks.

"Japanese." Leo and I both say.

In Chinese it means 'triumph' and in Burmese its 'strong' or 'unbreakable'."

"Well someone's done their research haven't they?" Raph says.

"You could say that." I smile. "When I was little I asked my mom what my name meant, so we looked it up and it turns out that it has quite a lot of meanings in different languages. But what about y'all? Your names mean something?"

"Well we're named after the famous renaissance artists." Leo points to all his brothers, "me being Leonardo, then Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo."

"Wow that's pretty cool and unique."

"Just like you." I hear Mikey say. I blush deeply again.

When we get to the ladder, Mikey goes up first then Ethan and Nathan, followed by Leo and with Raph and Donnie helping me get up the ladder with as little movement as possible. We continued down the road, turning every once in awhile until we were finally in front of the apartment building. Luckily it was super late so not many people were on the streets.

"Welp, this is us." I told them.

"Nice place." Michelangelo said with a low whistle.

"…thanks."

Donnie is replaced by Nathan who offered to help take me up the stairs. Ethan walks behind us. "Thanks for everything guys. I… really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble really. Remember to take some ibuprofen." Donatello reminded me.

I nodded. "I will."

"Well, see you later!" Mikey said with a wave.

"Wait!" I called out. They stopped and turned to look at me. "Will I ever see y'all again?"

"Not unless you plan to get into another fight with the Purple Dragons." Raph replied.

I was going to say something when they all just vanished.

"Wow." I said to no one in particular. I sighed and we walked into the building. Sleep was looking pretty good at the moment. I look at my brother's face and know he's thinking the same thing I am.

"Where are we going to sleep tonight, Kai?"

I sighed not answering him.

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**Please review! Sorry about my spelling errors...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the next chapter y'all! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own them**

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"Mommy! Daddy! Look! He's walking!" The little girl screamed. She was holding her brothers hand as he took one step, then another. "He's doing it!"

The mother smiled and looked down at her other son. His light brown eyes shined in the sunlight, she ran her fingers through his dirty blond peach fuzz hair and kissed him lightly. Her husband was lying down enjoying the cool breeze of a summer afternoon.

The small family was having a picnic by small lake out in a meadow. The little girl giggled as her baby brother wobbled as he walked toward his father, whose arms were stretched out wide. "C'mon buddy, you can do it." He said. It determined the baby even more as he 'walked' faster. When he reached his father's arms he was lifted high into the air and spun around. The baby giggled while the little girl danced and cheered around her father's feet.

_Boom!_

The little girl turned her head to the loud booming noise. It was thunder. She didn't like thunderstorms, whenever there was a storm she would climb into her parent's bed and cry until she fell asleep.

The girl was lifted into her father's arms as the rain began to pour.

"Daddy, I'm scared." She said quietly.

"It's okay sweetie." He brushes her hair back and tells his wife to follow him, who is now holding their two sons.

_CRACK! BOOM!_

The girl yelps and buries her head in the crook of her father's neck. A comforting hand is put over her head as he runs. The father's stops to get his bearing checked, he sees a house with a light on and starts to run toward it.

_CRACK! BOOM!_

A flash of a blinding whit light is seen and the little girl suddenly feels like she's falling. She opens her eyes and is surrounded by darkness. She looks franticly for her family but saw nothing.

"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?!"

_SPLASH!_

Bubbles were all she saw as she desperately tried to swim to the surface. Her head pops up from underneath the roaring waves. "MOMMY!" She screams. She couldn't see anything, the waves crashed into her and she tumbled down under the water again. The brown haired girl tried to swim back up, needing more air, but she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She gave up on swimming knowing she won't make it. The girl thought of her family, and how she wasn't going to every see them again.

That was her last thought.

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I slowly open my eyes. I had that dream again. _Why? Why did you have to leave me, us? I miss you guys so much. Please come back…_

I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice that I was moving until I felt the strong arms around me. _Who's carrying me? It's not Nathan or Ethan…who else could it be? _My head rest against a hard rough chest. _Who has a chest this rough?!_ I slowly slid my head up against the hard chest and into the eyes of a certain blue eyed turtle. He smiled at me and moved his lips. I couldn't understand what he was saying. I stare into his eyes, his crystal blue eyes that looked like they could hold so much light, even in the darkest of nights. They remained me of my mother's eyes and how she never let me think bad about life.

My eyes start to water again and I wipe them away. I look ahead and see two other turtles, one of them has Ethan and the other has Nathan. I lay my head back against Mikey's chest and think. _I'm so tired but… I don't want to go to sleep. I might have another nightmare._

I scrunched up my nose as the strong scent of the sewers finally comes to me. Who knew the sewers could smell so bad.

When we came to a door I could only guess that this is where the turtles lived. I didn't pay much attention the last time I was here because I wasn't entirely convinced that any of it was real. But I guess it was.

"How she doin' back there?"

"She's pretty good. She woke up though but she's not saying anything."

_Go ahead and talk to me like I'm not here._

I was placed on something soft. _Wow, this is nice. I can't remember the last time I slept on something soft. _A warm blanket was placed over me as I felt my eyes drifting shut.

"Goodnight Kai. Hope you sleep well." I felt someone kiss me on my forehead.

I crack open my eyes to see Mikey walking away and turning of the lights. I smile and shut my eyes. _Goodnight, Mikey._

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I awoke to the faint meow. I opened my eyes slowly inhaled deeply. I slowly sat up, ignoring the soreness of my ribs, but noticed I wasn't in an ally or out on a park bench. _Where am I?_ Than all at once everything came back to me. Getting knock the snout out by those gang dorks then…meeting giant green turtles! I look around and saw a huge TV set up. _There must be like 20 TVs here!_

"Meow."

I look down and saw an orange tabby. _Aww how cute, a lil kitty._

_"_Hey lil guy." I say reaching my hand towards the small feline. "You're so cute, what's your name huh?

"Her name's Klunk." I heard from behind me.

I turn to look over the couch and there leaning against the wall is Michelangelo. He pushes himself off and walks toward the couch. He takes a seat next to me; the cat jumps up into his lap and starts to purr.

"I found her in the rain one day and thought that she could use a good home. So I took her back here but Leo thought it was a bad idea, you know Splinter being a rat and all, but Klunk doesn't really bother him and when she does, Splinter enjoys her. Don't tell him this but I caught him playing with her one time." He whispers to me.

I give a blank stare. _Who was this Splinter guy they keep talking about?_

Mikey must have caught my confusion. "Oh, you don't know who Master Splinter is do you?" I shake my head. "Well for starts, he's our father. See, when we were little we were just ordinary turtles. But we had some messy interaction with some space ooze called mutagen and it mutated us into giant turtles. Same thing with Splinter but obviously it didn't turn him into a turtle but I giant rat. He took us in, and raised us and taught us the art of ninjutzu." He told me.

I don't say anything. This is a lot to take in. I mean, giant ninja turtles living in the sewers of New York. I sigh and let my head fall into my hands. Groaning I look back at Mikey.

"So you're really a turtle?"

Mikey just smiles. "Yes, I'm really a turtle."

I take a deep breath. "Okay I finally believe that I'm not dreaming." Mikey laughs. "Um, can I use your bathroom please?"

"Sure, it's just down the hall and to your left, can't miss it. Breakfast will be up soon, what do you like on your french toast?" He asks as he helps me up.

"Um, I guess just what's on regular French toast."

"I'll be sure to do that." He says and walks into, what I guess is the kitchen.

I make my way down the long hallway and found the bathroom. I slid inside and closed the door, locking it. I sighed as I looked at my refection. I had bags under my eyes and my hair couldn't look any messier. _I look like I got mugged…oh wait… I sorta did._ I pulled up my shirt, and saw that my ribs weren't there normal shade, instead there black and blue. I lightly run my fingers over them and hiss in pain. I let my shirt fall over my stomach and turned on the faucet and splashed some water into my face. Wiping my face clean of all the dirty over it felt amazing. I turned it off and wiped my face with my shirt, then ran my fingers through my long messy brown hair. When I was certain that I didn't look like a complete hobo, I opened the door and made the journey back down the hallway and into the kitchen were Mikey disappeared into earlier.

The orange banded turtle was at the stove flipping over a piece of bread drench in what I could guess was the ingredients for French toast. I take a seat at the table and just when I thought I would have to wait for food; Mikey sets a plate down in front of me.

"Bon appétit." He says handing me a fork.

My mouth waters at what's in front of me. There were three pieces of toast drowned in syrup with sprinkles of powdered sugar and topped with whip cream with a cherry on top. I could lie, it looked delicious!

"Wow Mikey. You went through all this trouble to make me this? You really shouldn't have, I would've been fine with some cereal and a bagel." I say embarrass that Mikey put together a whole breakfast for me.

He shakes his head. "No way! You're the guest, and besides I was going to make some anyway for the guys, it's French toast Friday. It would be kinda suckish to not have French toast on French toast Friday."

"I guess I can't argue with that. So where are the others anyway? I've only seen you." I close my mouth to keep from making a mess.

"Well Leo should be up, I mean the guy wakes up at 6 just to do some morning stenches then meditates for like 2 hours with Master Splinter."

_Geez Leo._

Raph should smell the food soon and Don should be down for his coffee in a bit. The guy can't start the day without it." Mikey leans against the counter. "I tell ya Kai, I'll bet anything that he could run on coffee alone for days. And speak of the turtle, here he comes now."

A tired looking Donatello shuffles his way past me and his brother, not even acknowledging us, and straight toward the coffee maker. He presses a few buttons and walks to the table taking a seat then letting his head fall on the table with a loud thud. _Wow Mikey was right, he can't function without it._ A beeping sound is heard from the coffee machine and that startles Don awake. He makes his way back to the machine and grabs a large mug and waits for his coffee to fill the cup. Once he takes a long slip and takes a long satisfying sigh.

I glance at Mikey who smiles and mouths 'watch this.' "Hey Donnie, how was your sleep? Did ya sleep well? Do you want some French toast? I know you do, so don't try to deny it big brother!" He yells at the not fully awake purple banded turtle. Who in return slowly turns his head to his younger brother and gives an evil glare.

"Mikey. Shut. Up. NOW." Don grunted loudly.

_Definitely not a morning person. Well at least Nathan isn't up yet, then Donnie would be one unhappy-_

"Morning everyone!" A happy and cheerful Nathan came strolling into the room. Donatello groaned and slammed his head into his arms.

Used to Nathans loud mouth in the morning, I smiled. "Good morning Nate. Is Ethan still sleeping?"

He shakes his head. "No, he's on his way down now. Mikey can I have some too please?"

"Course ya can kid!"

Nathan nudges Mikey in his arm. "I'm not a kid! I'm grown."

I sit back and swallow the last of my meal. "On what level?" I say and he gives me a smug look and sticks his tongue out. I laugh at his attempt to' be grown'.

Behind me a silent Ethan makes his way over to the table and takes a seat next to me. He gives a small way good morning, but doesn't say anything. I sigh, Ethan doesn't talk that often and he won't talk to anyone he doesn't know and at this point, it's everyone in this house besides me and Nathan. I put a comforting hand on Ethan's shoulder and ask if he wants some food. He nods and I tell Mikey that Ethan wants some too. "Make only two because he won't eat three."

"Make that triple for me Mike." Raph says as he strolls in and straight to the fridge.

Donnie speaks up after getting another cup of coffee. "And some for me too please."

"Alright 3 orders coming up. Anything else?" Mikey said.

"Yeah could you make me some and with some eggs. Thanks Mikey." A new voice said. A blue masked turtle took a seat next to his genius brother. He looked at me and said "morning."

After everyone was done eating, Leo announced that it was time for practice.

"Would you like to watch Kai?" Leo asks.

"I wanna watch!" Nathan says before I could answer Leo.

"Well I guess it can't hurt to watch."

"Yes!" A skipping Nathan trails after Raph out the kitchen.

Nathan takes my hand and followed me. "So Leo, are you guys like some ninja masters or something?"

"Well I wouldn't say masters but we have been trained in it all our lives. So in a way if you've never seen it before, you could think we are. The dojo's right up here."

"You know Nathan's going to ask if he can train with y'all."

Leo laughs at this. "He can if he wants to be after our warm up he'll be begging to stop."

I give a questioning look and he just laughs again and walks into the dojo.

_How can someone be tired after just a little warm up?!_

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**A/N: If anyone has already come up with a similar version of this plot, I'll try to make it different from what you wrote. I've already made some changes to the story if that would be okay to everyone. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I walk inside the dojo, and see a giant rat sitting on the floor. I jerk to a stop and stare.

_A giant rat…didn't Mikey say something about a rat. What was his name was, Splinter?_

The rat stands up and walks over to me and Leo. Ethan hinds behind me, and I don't blame him.

"Good morning Miss Kai. I hope your sleep was pleasant." The rat said to me.

"Uh…y-yes it was." I replied, still a bit creeped out. "Thank you for letting me and my brothers sleep here. I hope we didn't cause too much trouble?"

The rat smiled. "Not at all child" He then looked at Ethan and gave a small bow. Ethan in return shuddered more behind me but then peaked around me and gave a small nod.

"Can we please start with the ninja training now, pleeeease?" An impatient Nathan whined.

"Yes we shall start now. We will begin with a few kata's. Miss Kai, will you be joining us as well?" Splinter asked.

Shaking my head I replied, "I don't think I could really do all that with my ribs hurting and all, and Ethan's not big on hitting folks. But Nathan is more than happy join in."

"If you wish. Please feel free to watch." He walks back over to the four turtles and my brother. "Begin."

I watch with wide eyes as the moved into different stances with grace. Well, Leo had more grace than the others. It's almost as of their dancing. Nathan tried to be as balanced and easy as Leo but struggled to keep his balance. I gave a small smile to his enthusiasm though. I glance at Ethan who sits beside me and watches with curious eyes. He tugs on my pants and I lean down.

"Kai." He whispers to me. "Can I play with Nathan too?"

I smile at his request. "Sure you can, just go up and tell Splinter, kay."

He looks at the rat and then back at me. I nudge his toward Splinter and he tapped his shoulder.

"Um, Mr. Splinter, sir, c-can I train with my brother?"

Splinter smiles. "Yes you may." He guides his to stand next to Nathan. His older twin gives a big grin that takes up his whole face.

The rest of practice had to do with some meditation; Ethan did really well with this according to Splinter. Saying he has a very calm mind. After meditation was over, there some little sparring between brothers, Raph with Mikey and Leo with Donnie. Nathan wanted to fight against Raph, but I didn't think that was a good idea. Splinter agreed with me on this. After the matches were over the Master Splinter announced that practice was over. I watched as he got to his feet and walked out the room.

"That was so cool! I actually trained with real ninja's! Did ya see me Kai, I was all boom, bam and ka-pow!" An excited Nathan jumped around the dojo. Ethan jumped around with him and they giggled together.

I chuckle. _I'm glad the twins are finally enjoying themselves. It's been so long since I've seen Ethan smile. I wish we could stay here…_

I was jumped out of my thoughts when Mikey came up to me. "Hey Kai, wanna play video games with me?" Already pushing me toward the couch.

"No thanks, I'm not big on video games." I lied.

"Actually Mikey I need to talk to Kai." Leo speaks up. I give a worried look.

Mikey saw this and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Kai, Leo's just being his typically over protective self."

_That doesn't make me feel any better Mikey. _I follow Leo into the dojo again and he sits in the middle of the floor. I follow his movements and sit across from him. I had a bad feeling about this.

We sit in silence and it just makes me feel more awkward. I shift to get more comfortable on the floor. The more Leo stares at me the more I try to avoid his eyes. That's a pretty hard thing to do when you have nothing else to stare at.

_Gosh Leo, why don't you just stare into my soul while you're at it…if you're not already doing that…I wonder what he's thinking. Leo doesn't seem like the type of guy to yell at someone without a reason. Heck, what kinda reason would he yell at me for? I barley know the guy! Well I did lie to them…but he wouldn't yell at me for that, right?_

"Leo, would you please just tell me why you wanted to talk to me." My patience had ended.

He didn't speak and that irked me.

"What's your story." He asked.

That took me by surprise. "My story?"

"Yes"

I still didn't get the question. "What do you-

"I mean, why did we find you out in an ally after we dropped you off."

I give a sad look and stare at the floor; no longer wanting Leo to see my face. Leo was trying to get me to open up to him about all my problems. _Does he think I would really tell a complete stranger?_

"I ran away." I quietly say.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Why do you need to know?" Annoyed with all these questions Leo was asking.

"If you're going to stay here, I at least need to know the reason why."

"What is this Dr. Phil? I don't need to talk about my feeling Leo! I don't need someone to baby me! Why does someone always assume that something is wrong?" I yell at him.

"Kai, I just want to help. I didn't mean to upset you." He tells me.

"I don't want your help Leo! What I want is to keep my brothers safe. What I want are my parents back!" I stand up and storm out of the dojo. Leo calls after me but I don't stop, I ignore the strange looks I got from the others and ran to the door.

"Kai! Wait!" I hear Nathan yell. I continue to run down the sewers until I couldn't breathe anymore. I use the wall for support while I catch my breath. I lean against the wall and slide down.

_Man my ribs hurt…I can't believe I just yelled at him. All he wanted to do was help...but it's not any of his business. I chose to run away, so I have to live with the consequences. Gosh this is so hard. I wish you guys were still here…_

I tuck my legs close to my chest and rest my head on my arms. My eyes start to water when I think about all the good times I had with my parents. I remember when my father dressed up as a clown at my 6th birthday party, and started to make balloon animals. Of course the only one he knew how to make was a snake, but I still loved the thought he put into it. Another time was when we built a homemade fort out of cochins and blankets. Mom didn't like it when I broke her vase trying to put up the blanket though. My parents were the king and queen, while I was there little princess. I had begged my mother to let is sleep under it and after some puppy eye trick and some whining from my father, she agreed. We watched movies under the fort until we fell asleep.

I sadly smile at the memory. But that was a long time ago. Things have changed now. The real world has come into view, and I had to be the grown up. I sigh. "Ugh why does growing up have to be so hard?"

"It's only hard if you don't know what to do."

I jerk my head up and see Mikey sitting on the opposite wall.

"When did you get here? Wait, never mind I don't wanna know." I stand up to leave but Mikey catches my hand.

"Let go of me!"

Mikey pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. I struggled trying to get away from him but he refused to let go.

"Kai you know you're not alone right."

I stopped struggling. Mikey doesn't let go of me and I don't care, I just stand there in shock.

"We knew you were lying when you told us that you lived in an apartment. After we dropped you guys off we waited until you left the building and followed you to that ally. I Know you don't want to talk about it Kai, but I think it would really help. Donnie says that it's not healthy when you keep to yourself and not talk to anyone."

He lets go and I look at him and he sits in the floor and waves a hand over to sit next to him. I reluctantly sat next to the orange banded turtle and he puts an arm around me. He doesn't say anything, which I'm thankful for.

"Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here."

I sit there next to Mikey and think. How can someone I just meet care for us so much? "When I was little my parents were like my idols. They taught me good from bad and to always smile no matter what people say about you. So that's what I did. I didn't let people tell me what I would do; I just said that I have to work harder. My mom worked as a lawyer and my dad worked with cars and stuff. They got pretty busy at some points, but they would always fine time for me."

"They sound like nice people." Mikey says.

"They were." I swallow the lump in my throat and continue. "A couple years after the twins were born I was turning 9 and my parents took me out on a birthday dinner. I still remember what I had. It was chicken strips with fries and honey mustard on the side. We had a great time together. The whole staff came and sang happy birthday to me and I got a free brownie ice cream Sunday. It was so much fun." I stopped talking not wanting to finish.

Mikey squeezes my shoulder and tells me to go on.

I can feel the tears run down my face. "When we got home from the restaurant, my dad got a call from one of his old friends. He didn't tell me what his friend said but when he looked at my mother, she took me to my room and told me to start packing everything I don't want to leave. I didn't know what was going on but I still followed my mother's orders. I had started to pack when there was a banging on the door.

_Flashback_

I stared at my mother who put a finger to her lips. I didn't say a word. She crept to my door and peaked outside. My father told us silently to be quiet. Mom told me to go get my brothers as quietly as I could. I did exactly that. I ran quietly into the twins' room and to my relief they weren't crying. I grabbed them both and went back to my mother. She kissed them both and then kissed me.

"I love you both. Don't ever forget that okay sweetie." She whispers to me. She presses her head on my forehead and says a quick pray.

"Honey we need to go now." Dad says to mom. She sucks in a breath and dad takes the twins and mom takes my brothers. My dad leads us into the den and pulls up the rug to reveal a door. He pulls in open and inside are old wooden stairs that look like they will break with one step. My father pushes me down the stairs and gave me the twins. He kisses my head and pulls me to look in his eyes.

"Kai, no matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you don't come out until morning. I love you and your brothers so, so much. I promise that you may not get it now but when you're older everything will be alright." He takes my hand and puts a necklace inside it, and rolls my fingers around it. "Keep this with you at all times. Watch over your brothers, keep them safe. Oh how I love you." He kisses me one more time and goes up the stairs.

My mother tries to hold back her tears. "Sweetie, I love you so much. Don't ever forget that we'll always be with you. Keep smiling and watch over your brothers." She hugs me tightly and brushes my hair. Then as quickly as she hugged me, she left. She walked up the steps and looked back at me with a sad face.

'I love you.' She mouthed as my father closed the door.

That was the last time I saw them.

_Flashback ended_

I now had tears pouring down my face. Mikey tries to comfort me but it's not working.

"You don't have to continue Kai."

"No, I-I want to." Believe it or not, talking actually helped.

"The police came to my house and they found me and the twins. We were taken to the police department and they asked questions. I couldn't answer them because I didn't know anything. I…I wish that I did but...I didn't. Everything about that day I don't really remember. But I did know one thing. I knew that I was never going to see my parents again."

I look down and twiddle with my thumbs. "We were taken to our aunt and uncle's house. They…weren't the nicest couple but they were the only family I had who lived close. I stayed with them for seven years. My uncle would beat me when I did something wrong. He didn't care about me or the twins. My aunt would just so up late at night drunk; she never helped when he went too far. That's how I got this."

I pulled of my glove to reveal a burn mark. Mikey gasps and covers his mouth. The bur ran down the palm of my hand to my wrist. I stare at my hand and gently touch it.

"Some days weren't as bad as others, but… I put up with them for seven years. Seven years of hell. Ethan and Nathan tried to help but I didn't let them. I-I didn't want them to get hurt. Ethan didn't talk, not even to me or Nathan. I couldn't get his to say anything for months. It was like he just broke, and I could fix him." I sob into Mikey's shoulders and he rubs my back. "I didn't know what to do. My mom said to always smile but…how could I when she left me. She left and I needed her."

Mikey doesn't say anything; he just lets me cry out. We stayed in silence until I said something.

"When my uncle and aunt left one night I told the twins we were leaving. With all the money that I earned performing on the streets and my job, we took a train from Chicago to New York. I knew that they could find us here. We've been in the streets ever since then. I'm sorry I lied to you. I just...I didn't know what you would do if you found out that we were runaways. I thought you would take us back." I squeeze Mikey and bury my face in his chest as he strokes me head.

"We would never do that, and Kai I promise that as long as your with us, nothing will ever happen to you and the twins. I promise." He murmured in my ear. I sob and Mikey continues to stroke my hair. I just accept the embrace and continue to cry. I can hear my sobs bounce of the walls and echo down the tunnels.

Mikey asks if I'm ready to go back to the lair and I slowly shake my head. To be honest I wasn't ready to go back. Going back meant that I would have to talk with Leo, and that's something I don't want to do right now.

"C'mon I know somewhere we could go." He lifts me to my feet but they buckle and I fall.

"Easy, easy."

I allow Mikey to carry me and I rest my head against his plastron.

_Im so tired. I wish I could just fall asleep…_

_Tap tap tap _

I open my eyes and look around. _When did I close them?_ We were on a fire escape. Mikey looks down at me and smiles.

"This is our good friends April's apartment. Don't worry she's really nice and you'll like her. Plus there's someone living with her that I think you'll like." He tells me.

A red haired women came to the window and smiled. "Mikey! It's so good to see you. Oh, this must be Kai."

"It sure is dudette, now can you let us in its kinda cold out here."

"Oh sorry, c'mon in."

Mikey carries me and I tell him to put me down and April comes and hugs me.

"Hi, I'm April O'Neil. I don't know if they guys mentioned me but I'm a good friend of theirs."

"It's a pleasure to meet you April." I say.

"Hey April, is Ava here?"

"Yeah she's changing. Wait here, I'll go get her."

April disappears into another room.

I look at Mieky. "Who's Ava?"

As he's about to answer April comes out and behind her is a tall blond girl with wings attached to her back.

_Wings…why am I not surprised. C'mon Kai you've already seen giant turtle._

"Hey Mikey what's up. Is that her?"

_Great and she knows me. How many people did the guys tell about me?_

"Sure is. Now you two play nice while I talk with April." He walks in the kitchen with April following him.

My attention is still on the new girl and she walks up to me.

"Sup. My names Ava and I know what you're thinking." She stretches her wings at wide from wall to wall. "These bad boys are real."

_I guess I should have seen this coming…_


End file.
